Throwback: Johnny Kemp-Just Got Paid

Johnny Kemp moved from the Bahamas and became a Harlemite when he was 13 years old in 1979. He became a singer, dancer, actor and songwriter and he would later sign a contract with Columbia who released his self-named debut in 1986. “Just Another Lover” slighty warmed his name to the public but it was the Secrets Of Flying in 1987 that put him at the forefront of the New Jack Swing movement. “Dancin’ With Myself” and “Just Got Paid” were top five hits and Kemp was a household name. The latter, produced by New Jack Swing creator Teddy RIley, was a track originally offered to Keith Sweat who declined and Kemp took the track and added his own lyrics. Riley would also produce the NYSYNC cover of the song in 2000. Kemp would only chart again with the song “Birthday Suit” from the movie Sing. After leaving the music industry Kemp did commercials and got involved in various businesses. He has sang with the Black Rock Coalition for a number of years once performing an inspired version of “All Along The Watchtower” during a Jimi Hendrix birthday tribute in the ’90s. In 2007 he made an appearance on Keith Sweat’s DVD Sweat Hotel Live. Later that year he was interviewed by the website New Jack Swing Forever and he also performed as a part of their “20 Years Of New Jack Swing” event at Ashford and Simpson’s Sugar Bar in New York City.